relevance of engineering entrepreneurship
DESCRIPTION
EntrepreneurshipTRANSCRIPT
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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RELEVANCE OF
ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Yinusa A. ADEDIRAN (FNSE, MIEEE)
Department of Electrical & Electronics EngineeringUniversity of Ilorin, Ilorin, NigeriaEmail: [email protected]
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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INTRODUCTION
Because of Globalisation: Developed countries having a ‘field day’ over
the developing countries both economically and technologically
Nigeria becoming increasingly ‘globalised’ Industries are closing down due to:
– high cost of production– ease with which finished products can be
imported rather than producing them locally
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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INTRODUCTION
This paper has adduced lack of entrepreneurship
training in the curriculum of our tertiary institutions as the main cause
suggests introduction engineering entrepreneurship courses throughout the last three or four semesters in the universities and polytechnics
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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DEFINITION
Entrepreneurship is (generally) the practice of – starting new organisations or reactivating mature
ones– in response to major identified opportunities.
Can range from – solo projects to – major undertakings
leading to creation of many job opportunities and creation of new products and business
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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DEFINITION
To engineering graduates, entrepreneurship (specifically) is
the integration of – business management – with engineering/technical skills
leading to the formation of
engineer-entrepreneurs
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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EXPECTATIONS FROM AN ENTREPRENEUR
An entrepreneur should be willing and able to convert a new idea or invention
into a success innovation, be able to develop new markets of customers and
buyers, discover new sources of materials, mobilize capital resources (land, machines,
buildings, money, humans), introduce new technologies, products and services.
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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DUAL ROLE OF AN ENGINEER-ENTREPRENEUR
a technological professional with entrepreneurial skills
He must be able to integrate business management skills with technical skills.
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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Japan’s Statistics
Factories with less than 20 employees account for
up to 87.3% of total number of factories, 20.1% of total workforce, and 12.6% of the total national output.
Also, the Indian economy has its greatness in the proper attention paid to engineering entrepreneurship
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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ADVANTAGES OF ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Self-employment, leading to job satisfaction, flexibility in time and resource management;
Creation of job opportunities, the number depending on the size of, and available resources to, the entrepreneur;
Healthy competition, leading to higher product quality; Availability of more goods and services; Development of more industries, particularly in rural
areas; Development of entrepreneurial qualities and attitudes.
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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IMPERATIVE OF ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIA
Developed countries are continually searching for markets for their products
Developing countries are becoming dumping ground for goods produced in other parts of the world because they are neck-deep in solving – complex political crises and – socio-economic problems
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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IMPERATIVE OF ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIA
Nigerian universities and polytechnics produce more than 80.000 graduates yearly, less than 10% of which are employed
A reasonable percentage not gainfully employed because they are not found employable.
The industrial sector is operating at just about 33% production capacity because of high cost of production (from high energy cost, multiple taxation, high import tariff on raw materials, corruption, etc.)
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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CHALLENGES TO ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIA
Poorly Managed Pension Scheme Poorly Operated Poverty Alleviation
Programmes (NAPEP, NDE, etc.) Minimum Academic Standard of Higher
Institutions Multiple Taxations High Import Tariffs
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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SOURCES OF FUNDING
Personal savings Loans from friends, relatives, relevant agencies/banks Gratuity from retirement benefits Security exchanges (e.g. buying/selling of shares and
bonds) Profit plough-back Trade credits Hire purchase Mortgages Sale of securities
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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QUALITIES OF AN ENGINEER-ENTREPRENEUR
Deal with uncertainty and ambiguity (risk taking); Understand and speak the language of other
professionals, especially accountants, economists and other social scientists);
Team player; Convincing speaker and attentive listener; Creative and inquisitive mind; Adequate computer skills; Understand economic and financial aspects of an
engineering effort; Able to design sound business plan;
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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QUALITIES OF AN ENGINEER-ENTREPRENEUR
Possess analytical and planning skills; Work well in dynamic and rapidly changing environment; Work under pressure and in short time frames; Work effectively across multiple organizations, boards,
companies, and departments; Work with specialists of different mentalities, origins, and
cultural backgrounds; Be willing to learn and grasp new things (approaches, ideas); Good manager of resources (money, materials, machines,
etc.);
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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QUALITIES OF AN ENGINEER-ENTREPRENEUR
Good record keeping (of stocks, sales expenditures) Understand market dynamics; Good communication skills, both oral and written; A psychologist; People-oriented; Have inquisitive mind; Goal-oriented; Good negotiating skills; Understand state-of-the-art in related areas.
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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TRAINING IN ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Heartwarming and a good beginning that entrepreneurship courses have been introduced into the curriculum of all tertiary institutions
Growth of the enterprise depends on– ability to start-off, – Ability to manage effectively and efficiently the
resources at his/her disposal,– creativity to make something different from others
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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TRAINING IN ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Some recommended courses: Engineering Economics Design of Business Plan Leadership Human Resources Management Technological Entrepreneurship Cost Control Financial Accounting and Reporting
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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TRAINING IN ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Some recommended courses (contd) Engineering Management Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship Financial Management Production and Inventory Control Maintenance Engineering New Product Development Marketing Management
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Major stakeholders in the development of entrepreneurship culture are
the various levels of government, the professional bodies, and the entrepreneur himself/herself
each with different, but complementing, roles
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Local Government : should provide the enabling environment that will
make it easy for the entrepreneur to set up and operate
The entrepreneur should, for example, have easy and cheap access to land, water,
electricity, etc. not be stifled with unnecessary taxes and levies.
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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RECOMMENDATIONS
State Government:
should encourage local governments to assist interested entrepreneurs
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Federal Government should set up a functional regulatory
framework to promote engineering entrepreneurship
should harmonize all forms of taxes and levies in order to prevent multiple taxations
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Professional Bodies (COREN and NSE):
should ensure that adequate number of techno-entrepreneurship
courses is introduced into the curriculum of polytechnics and universities;
continuing education courses/workshops are mounted by the professional bodies at least twice yearly.
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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RECOMMENDATIONS
The Entrepreneur should ensure that the enterprise is located as close
as possible to the source of local materials; focus on the needs of the populace for
acceptability and marketability; operate in such a way as to encourage
others to emulate him.
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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CONCLUSION
An engineer-entrepreneur is one who combines his/her technical skills with business knowledge to see opportunities and convert such to create jobs for others
engineering curricula in higher institutions to be re-designed in such a way as to expose engineering students to entrepreneurial skills through introduction of business-related courses.
All stakeholders must play their role with the commitment it deserves.
NSE Industrial Div. Intn'l Conf/AGM, Lagos, 4-6 Oct. 2011
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THANK YOU ALL
FOR YOUR ATTENTION